Mandatory Driver Education
Motor vehicle crashes cause over seven percent of teen deaths each year. Although this is true, according to Janet Adams, “Over the last decade, teen graduation from driver education classes has plunged from 100 percent to about 50 percent. During the same time period, injury accidents involving 16 to 19 year-olds have increased 55 percent.” Do these statistics reflect the removal of driver education from most school systems in Oklahoma? Oklahoma City is one of the few districts with a driver education program offered during the school year. Fees for these classes are $200 for in-district students and $250 for anyone living outside the district. In addition, driving sessions offered in the fall are conducted in the evening and on Saturdays, but no school credit is given. Although summer classes are offered, they are limited to 30 students each and sessions fill up quickly. Last year only 139 out of 458 students took the summer course. In summation, the safety of teenagers is affected when drivers’ training is not available. Therefore, driver education should be mandatory and offered at a low cost to high school students during the school year.
In 1987 the Legislature ended a 24-year practice of earmarking $1 from the sale of every car tag for driver education. (Lester, Jeff) This caused the death of free training to all high school students. At that time, $2.4 million was produced per year to fund driver education (“Driver Courses and Failures”). According to Janet Adams, a writer for the Daily Oklahoman: “schools still get the money but are no longer required to use it for driving instruction. School districts are able to divert the money to other areas as they choose. T...
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...o beginning drivers” (qtd. in Adams). Therefore, the lack of organized, instructional driver training affects the safety of the new driver and all others driving on the streets and highways or walking across the street. With this is mind, the next time a person gets into their car and buckles their seatbelt, they may be arming their self to meet an inexperienced driver who learned to drive by reading a driver manual long enough to pass a test.
Works Cited
Adams, Janet. “Driver Courses and Failures.” Daily Oklahoman 17 Mar. 2000: B2-3.
Lester, Jeff. “Driver’s Ed at a Critical Stage.” Driving 17 Feb. 1998: 16-36.
Newton, Josh. Help Teens Learn. New York: McGraw, 1999.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 1998: Young
Drivers. 5 Jan. 2000. TSA 9 Nov. 2000
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/pdf/young98.pdf
Through out the years teenagers have been driving without a license. In this century teenagers are decreasing to get their license (Teens getting their driver license. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from ). Teenagers tend to think that just because they know how to pump gas press the brakes and rea...
Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.
Davis, Robert. (2005, March 3). USA Today. “Is 16 too young to drive a car?”
Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.
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